St Josemaria’s book The Way of the Cross – Foreword

Msgr. Alvaro del Portillo

“Enter into the wounds of Christ Crucified.” When Monsignor Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer proposed this way, to those who asked him for advice on how to deepen their interior life, he was doing no more than pass on his own experience, pointing out the short cut he had been using throughout his life, and which led him to the highest peaks of spiritual life. Tags: Alvaro del Portillo, Contemplation, Jesus Christ, The Way of the Cross

What is the significance of holy pictures and statues?

Paintings and sculptures reflect the progress of thought, the shades of feeling of each stage in history. A picture or statue may suggest very different ideas in different eras. Christian art: it is also a projection of a meditative, lived faith. Tags: Beauty, Benedict XVI, Iconography, Pictures and statues of St Josemaria Escriva

A Way Through the World

John Wauck

An anthology of texts taken from the writings of St. Josemaria Escrivá. It includes extracts from his books, interviews, letters and diaries, in Italian. The texts were selected and introduced by Fr. John Wauck. The following is an English version of the introduction, in which Fr. Wauck discusses St Josemaria’s personality and the context in which Opus Dei first saw the light. Tags: Passionately Loving the World, Culture, History, books, Opus Dei

The birthday of "alternative" feminism?

Anne-Marie Walker

St Valentine’s Day is an important day for most people but this year it is especially important. Why? Is it going to be particularly chocolate-filled? Will there be a mountain of roses? No. It will be the 80th anniversary of the start of the women’s section in Opus Dei and as a woman in Opus Dei that’s really important to me. Tags: Pope John Paul II, Opus Dei, Vatican II, Women

Why Opus Dei makes me a better mum

Rosemary Keenan

What sets Opus Dei apart from the fickleness of the world is the ‘unity of life’ that members try to lead. “This is the real you, the person you are behind closed doors,” I often say to my children, “not the public image you portray when you’re outside with your friends.” Tags: Unity of life, family, Women

A shared life

Fr. Roy Cimagala

Our life is by definition a shared life. Fr Roy Cimagala, Chaplain of CITE in Cebu City, writes in News Today Online about St Josemaria's teachings on finding God in our ordinary lives, and the way that impacts on our relations with other people. Tags: Passionately Loving the World, Generosity, Philippines

Thank God, it’s Monday!

Scott McKellar, director of the Bishop Helmsing Institute

We are all familiar with the more common expression “Thank God, it’s Friday!” We all meet people who are forced to work at jobs they find difficult or unexciting and who seem to live for the weekend. The Genesis narrative makes it clear that the addition of “toil” to human work did not occur until after the Fall. While we may all sympathize with the person who wants to relax after a long work week, the “toil” of work is not God’s original plan. Tags: Opus Dei, Work, Ordinary life

"Light, Salt, and Leaven": Lay people's role in the Church's mission

Msgr. Alvaro del Portillo

The early Christians, who had lived with Jesus and the Apostles or belonged to the next generation, were very conscious that their mission was to fill everything that they did with faith. In Tertullian’s words, “What the soul is in the body, that the Christians are in the world.” St Josemaria, as Bishop Alvaro del Portillo says in this article, reminded people tirelessly that “Each and every one therefore must actively work to pass on to all men and women the gospel Jesus preached.” Tags: Alvaro del Portillo, Apostolate, Citizenship, Presence of God, Early Christians, Work, Unity of life

St. Josemaria Escriva: A theology of work

E.C. Dioko

St. Josemaria Escriva, founder of Opus Dei. Whenever this writer mentioned the name of this modern-day saint to his friends their usual reaction was: “Who is he?” I would then explain the saint’s theology of work which is the centerpiece of his teaching. Tags: Faith, Work, Virtues

Priestly Fraternity in the Life of Josemaría Escrivá

Javier Echevarría

Bishop Javier Echevarria, who worked with St Josemaria for many years and is now the prelate of Opus Dei, explains how St Josemaria saw the priesthood and taught others to see it – a life of unity and fraternity in close identification with Christ. Above all, he would say, every priest needs to be “a man of prayer”. Tags: Priesthood, Sacraments, Following Christ